Question 1

Partisanship strongly influences the extent to which individuals report they approve or disapprove of the president.

Accepted Answer

Contemporary judgments of the presidency are inevitably clouded by partisanship. For example, at the end of President Obama's first 100 days, 90% of Democrats approved of his performance, but less than 30% of Republicans felt the same way. Similarly, at the end of the George W. Bush administration, only 6% of Americans approved of his handling of the office, while 75% of Republicans still backed his administration.

Question 2

The importance of partisanship to presidential approval is a relatively new phenomenon, appearing only in the last few administrations.

Accepted Answer

There has been a sizeable discrepancy between Republican and Democratic levels of support for presidents going back more than seven decades to the beginning of systematic survey measurement of presidential approval.

Question 3

Presidential reputations rarely improve after they leave office.

Accepted Answer

As partisan passions cool, several presidents have seen their reputations improve, including Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter.

Question 4

Only presidents who govern during times of crisis are likely to be considered great or near-great.

Accepted Answer

Although three near-great presidents governed during major wars (Wilson, Truman, Polk), five other near-great presidents were not wartime presidents (Jefferson, Jackson, T. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Reagan)

Question 5

Historians have convincingly determined that presidential greatness is largely a function of how bold a president was when in office.

Accepted Answer

Although it is frequently assumed otherwise, each of the indisputably great presidents actually played their leadership hands rather cautiously.

Question 6

Which scholar pioneered the empirical study of presidential greatness?&#10;A) Richard Neustadt&#10;B) Arthur Schlesinger&#10;C) David Frost&#10;D) Stephen Skowronek

Accepted Answer

In 1948, Arthur Schlesinger asked 55 prominent historians to assign presidents letter grades related to their greatness or failure.

Question 7

Which of the following presidents is consistently rated among the worst in American history?&#10;A) Cleveland&#10;B) Harrison&#10;C) Arthur&#10;D) Harding

Accepted Answer

Along with Presidents Buchanan, Pierce, and Johnson, Warren Harding is frequently voted one of the lesser American presidents.

Question 8

A president's place in political time is structured by his relationship with the dominant party regime and:&#10;A) the moral capacity of the dominant regime.&#10;B) the presence or absence of a war.&#10;C) the strength of the economy.&#10;D) whether the dominant regime is resilient or vulnerable.

Accepted Answer

A president's place in political time is related to the president's affiliation with the dominant party regime and whether that regime is resilient or vulnerable.

Question 9

Which post-Vietnam president has the best reputation for greatness?&#10;A) Ford&#10;B) Carter&#10;C) Reagan&#10;D) Clinton

Accepted Answer

In a Wall Street Journal poll, only Reagan was rated near-great; every other president who served after 1968 was rated as average or below average.

Question 10

According to Skowronek, presidents committed to continuing a regime's politics while adapting its agenda to changes in the public's agenda are known as:&#10;A) orthodox-innovators.&#10;B) orthodox-articulators.&#10;C) unorthodox-preemptors.&#10;D) unorthdox-lawmakers.

Accepted Answer

These presidents often serve during the periods Skowronek associates with "the politics of articulation" aligned with resilient regimes that often put them in good position to achieve their goals, but less likely to receive historical attention.

Deck 10: Evaluating Presidents